Aju
Mukhopadhay - The Paper Boat
AJU MUKHOPADHYAY; THE PAPER
BOAT [ PRAKASH BOOK
DEPOT BAREILLY] -243003, 2007, ISBN 978-81-7977-234-8 Rs
50
Aju Mukhopadhyay
is a significant name in Indian English Poetry and he continuously
diverts our attention by his haikus and other forms of poetry.
He is a poet, essayist and fiction writer. He writes on diverse
themes like travel, food, health, culture and festivals on Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother, on Nature, Spiritualism, Environment
etc.
His short stories
have been published in various renowned magazines and have been
broadcasted through All India Radio. He has authored nine books
in English. The present volume contains 37 poems.
In the first
poem `Morning`, he looks as fresh as William Wordsworth,
"Nothing is as fresh as morning, And so hopeful of its
journey in the offing, Sweeter than honey, It cannot be compared
to any` In the next poem "Time's sovereignty", he
reminds us Coleridge's `Ancient Mariner` "All around a
mariner, Water everywhere, Not a drop to drink, Moments escape
the eternity"
Next three
poems he has penned on Time entitled "About the time, With
the time and Time flows"
He remembers the
Shakespearean sonnet on Time in which he reminds us its destructive
effect and at the same time questions who can stop the swift
moving feet of Time.
In the next poem
"In the last phase of night", he is telling us the
significance of dawn for Yogis and dreams ripe in this phase
"Everything remains
inert and sleepy, Silence engulfs the earth from end to end,
Many happy dreams are conceived"
Aju takes us to
Vijaynagar dynasty in his next poem entitled "Silent Witness
of Bygone Ages" "We are shocked to read what historian
Sewell wrote, Never perhaps in the history of the world has
such havoc been wrought, And wrought so suddenly, on so splendid
a city----"
Aju laments to
see the growing metropolitan cities by cutting trees and mountains
in his next poem "The days have Passed By". Like a
true environmentalist he expresses his worries, Villages are
metamorphosed to hybrid creatures, Living in separate corners
of the globe, Never can we recreate the things we beheld, Or
time we lived them"
The poet raises
the issue of growing materialism in his next poem "A
Dream Like State"
"The more
he lives near you, More by you he's possessed,
More his living in the world, Becomes a dream like state"
In his next poem entitled he takes us to bliss of joy .
"Other than
a vision sublime, Wakeful in the other world, full of liberty,
I swam in an unending ananda lahari"
[ A Vision Sublime]
In his next poem
Soliloquy he remembers his young days which can't be returned
again His poems entitled `I and Me` and 'Presence' presents
seasons of life through beautiful imagery taken from nature.
"And silence
makes me alone, I se me a long distance,
Coming closer I long to embrace, As I wait for a shower of grace"
[I and Me]
The poet describes
the calm and cool atmosphere of the forest through his next
poem entitled "Everywhere". Next two poems entitled
"Matrimandir, Auroville" and From darkness towards
Light "remembers us the land and teachings of Mharashi
Arvind.
"Darkness is covered by darkness, Layer after layer,
Light beyond the womb, Is illusion"
[ From darkness
towards light]
In poem entitled
`What an age we are passing through!` is again clarion call
of an environmentalist ``What an age we are passing through,
Ecology destroyed , disharmony brought to nature, Man-Animal
relation worsened, By killing daily dumb creatures"
In the next three
poems entitled "Communism, The System , To The Gallows",
he has raised the burning issues of communism, corruption and
jail system of India.In the next two poems entitled`` Age of
No-War Dawn of Peace`` and Hope , he presents himself as optimist
peace lover.Aju gives new definition of a poet in his poem `Poet`
"A poet is
known by his poems, As a writer by his writings, Other things
otiose, Necessary for bio-notes" The next four poems entitled
"In Memoriam, A Real Day, The real choice and Frankness"
, he provides us teachings us to be open minded and open hearted.
His poem entitled "Worship of the body" advises us
on our intellectuality in caring our body.
"Body is
the receptacle, ever strong base, On which the sky scrapper
is built, A kingdom of mental and vital progress, Homely, secure
and reliable indeed"
The last poem
entitled `The Paper Boat` is very significant one and
reminds us of famous gazal of Jagjit Singh ` Vo kagaj ki kasti,
barish ka pani` "The paper boat, I set adrift, In my childhood,
On the flooded road"
Aju Mukhopadhyay
is quite successful in his efforts and this poetry volume is
a must read for every avid reader of English Literature. Its
price is also reasonable.
Contributing Author: Dr. Ram Sharma, Lecturer
in English, Janta
Vedic College MEERUT, U.P.
dr.ram_sharma@yahoo.co.in
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